


Be Careful Kissing Strangers

by orphan_account



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkwardness, Closeted Character, Gift Fic, Hookfire - Freeform, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Mistaken Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-15
Updated: 2014-01-15
Packaged: 2018-01-08 20:44:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1137174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three big mistakes that ended Baelfire's illegal fun.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Be Careful Kissing Strangers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lahela](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lahela/gifts).



Being in-the-closet while living in the Gold household was a lot more stressful than Baelfire could ever explain. His father was so overprotective that Bae was sure if he’d been born a girl, he would be locked up in a tower and not allowed to talk to boys until he turned 30. As it was, Rumson knew nothing about his sexuality and had one less thing to worry about… _for now_.

Nobody but Wendy and Lily knew he liked guys. They both sympathized with him a lot and they were the ones who brought him to **Neverland** : an LGBT bar the next town over. Despite his initial reluctance, Lily helped him make a fake ID which he could use to get in the bar. Wendy was a senior and could get in without any issue, but Lily and him were both only sixteen. To Bae’s relief, the bouncer didn’t seem to inspect the IDs too carefully anyway and the establishment’s environment wasn’t as terrifying as he’d imagined. It actually felt like he’d finally found home. 

He ended up going there once a month or so, celebrating after a difficult slew of exams or even when he felt particularly low and tired of keeping secrets. Baelfire met strangers to which he was able to freely admit his sexual orientation and wasn’t judged for it. He got hit on by dudes and he’d get free drinks a lot because they seemed to think he was ‘cute.’ Emma, one of Neverland's lesbian bartenders, seemed to have her suspicions about him being underage, but she never kicked him out and for that he was grateful. 

Bae allowed himself to unwind when he was in Neverland, but he wasn’t careless. He always made sure to not get too drunk, he kept away from creepy-looking individuals and the most action he ever got was making out in cubicles and dark corners or grinding against other dudes on the dance floor. Mostly he was content with conversation and flirting so that’s what he stuck to. 

A few days after his seventeenth birthday found him back at Neverland. He was in a good mood after acing difficult exams that month. Ever since he’d had an outlet, he wasn’t as grumpy as he used to be anymore and he was dealing with his social life a lot better. He was even contemplating on coming out on his eighteenth. When he remembered that he hadn’t been to the bar in a couple of weeks, he asked Wendy to cover for him as usual and told his father he was going to be out late finishing a project. 

Mistake number one came in the form of drinking more than he usually did. It didn’t get him smashed or anything, but he was considerably more buzzed than he’d ever been before. It felt nice actually and he gave in to the urge to step into the dance floor. The energy tonight was contagious and he was laughing as he danced to the upbeat music. He’d been dancing with random partners until he bumped bodily into someone. The impact almost sent him falling but he was caught by strong arms and brought upright again. 

“Sorry.” the man said loud enough for Bae to hear him through the blaring music. Bae blushed, feeling the hand slip off his waist. It thrilled him to observe that the guy was a head taller than him and seemed older. He got hit on by older dudes sometimes and he tried to stay away from them because he knew they were a sort of weakness for him. 

“No problem. My bad.” he yelled back with a charming smile. He shouldn’t flirt but it was just so natural to him by now that he couldn’t help himself. From what dim lighting they had, Bae could already tell the guy was handsome. He reminded Bae of somebody… he just couldn’t put a finger on who it was exactly. 

“You’re uhm-- you’re awfully cute.” he heard the guy say with what sounded like an English accent. He’s heard it enough from Wendy to be sure. The compliment made him look down shyly with a laugh. 

“You with anyone?” he continued to ask. 

“Nope.” Bae replied. 

“Great. That means no one’ll come after me if I hog you for a couple of dances, yeah?” the man teased. 

_It was just dancing_ , Bae reasoned in his head as he found himself nodding. There was nothing dangerous about dancing. Unfortunately he knew that was a lie and mistake number two flew past him. Dancing was a permission to get intimate and he had no excuse to be unaware of the fact. Bae guessed the older man must have been quite drunk, if the strong smell of alcohol on him was any indication. That might be the reason why he was being touchy-- not that Bae was complaining. At around the second song, he was pulled close into an almost embrace as they continued to move, their bodies grinding against each other’s. His heart was hammering in his chest as he told himself to move away and leave, but he felt reckless tonight. He rarely saw someone so attractive in Neverland. Especially someone this attractive who seemed to be so taken by him. As the song transitioned into another, Bae felt the English guy take his hand and plant a kiss on the back of his palm. 

“Can I buy you a drink?” he leaned over and whispered in Bae’s ear. 

“No.” Bae laughed in response, shaking his head slightly. They were already drunk enough as it is. He didn’t want to end up getting so intoxicated that he’d be unable to get home on his own. The look of hurt on the older man’s face made him feel guilty though as his refusal was taken as a rejection. It made him feel like such a kill-joy. Needing to rectify the situation immediately, Bae stood on tiptoe and pressed his lips against the other male’s. 

This was notably mistake number three, as that single kiss lead to them making out rather passionately on the dance floor. He didn’t know where all this intensity was coming from, but he felt a surge of lust flare up in him as he held on tightly to the man’s shirt. There was a spark that wasn’t there in boys he’d made out with in the past and it made him dizzy. Not to mention he was starting to get hard. 

“Come on,” were the last words he heard before he was dragged out towards the back exit. He had a dreamy smile on his face at the prospect of more kissing and touching with Mr. Sexy Englishman. His daydreaming was cut short once they were out in the alley though and the bright, steady light from the street lamp shone down on both of them. 

He knew that hair… and that jaw… With a growing panic, he halts their quick steps and tugs at the man’s forearm to get him to turn around so he could get a better look at that face. When blue eyes met his, he felt his heart stop. 

“P-Professor Jones?” Bae squeaked. 

The man, who unlike his history teacher lacked those bulky glasses and wore less-geeky clothing, let go of him like he was burned. With wide eyes and furrowed brows, he gaped at the younger male. 

“Fuck. I mean-- ugh!” he cursed bringing a hand to his forehead, “I knew you looked familiar…” 

Bae was thinking the exact same thing. Of course the man looked familiar, he was Killian freaking Jones; Storybrooke High’s adorably geeky history teacher. Bae attended his classes in junior high and his crush on the professor was what made him realize he was queer in the first place. But he’d never seen the man without his hair combed back and without his glasses. It was quite a sight. 

“Baelfire, right? Baelfire Gold.” he bit his lip after he’d gathered enough courage to look at Bae’s face, “ _Christ_. Why are you here?” 

“Same reason you’re here.” Bae countered with a bit of defiance. He was automatically defensive when it came to his secret and the possibility that the professor would tell his father about this came crashing down on him like a wave. 

“I mean you’re not-- you’re _underage_ , aren’t you? How did you even get in?” 

“I’m not telling you anything.” Bae flushed, feeling the embarrassment from coming out prematurely to someone he used to have a crush on in the past. He felt like a kid caught stealing candy and he hated it, “We’re not in school, you can’t make me talk.” 

“Fine. Sorry.” Killian shook his head and sighed, “How about I won’t tell anyone if you won’t tell anyone?” 

That was unexpectedly childish and it made Bae grin widely for a moment despite the circumstances. 

“Deal.” he nodded seriously. 

The sudden shock and awkwardness seemed to have knocked them both into a somewhat sober state. Killian spent a few more seconds rubbing his face with his hands, looking nervous and at a loss. He ended up offering Bae a ride home. 

“It’s late. You’re not even supposed to be here and I feel like I’ve just sexually harassed you.” he flinched, “I’m making sure you get home safely to make up for it, at the very least. I’m driving you home.” 

Bae frowned at the implications of that. As if he were a child who didn’t know what he was doing. He didn’t need Killian to watch over him. He’d been here countless times before and he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. He’d be damned if he revealed any more about himself though. Besides… 

“You’re drunk.” Bae pointed out, “You can’t drive.” 

The realization seemed to dawn belatedly on the older man and he bit his lip as he glanced back down guiltily at Bae. 

“I can get myself home, professor. I’m more worried about you, to be honest.” he shrugged. He had the audacity to be cheeky right now, armed with the knowledge that he had blackmail material. Killian Jones wasn’t the straight, preppy nerd that the school thought he was. Lily was going to have a field day. 

“ _Don’t_ call me that. Not here.” Killian said, his tone nearly begging. Bae supposed it was pretty weird to be called that after what they’d done in the bar. Just what exactly did Killian plan to do, dragging him out here before they recognized each other anyway? Were they supposed to continue making out in his car? Bae couldn’t deny the idea that Killian was into guys excited him a lot but it probably would have been better to find out in a way that was less humiliating for both of them. 

“All right, Jones.” Bae says, “I’m going to get myself a cab. You should get one too.” 

Bae was a bit surprised when Killian followed him quietly to the curb. The man hails a taxi and offers it to the boy. Then he hands the driver some bills to pay for the fare, stubbornly ignoring Bae’s protests. 

“Let me do this, please.” he says, the regret in his face and voice obvious, “To make up for the-- _misunderstanding_ earlier.” 

“It didn’t happen, okay? ” Bae raised both hands to quiet the man, “We never saw each other.” 

There was a sinking feeling in his chest at their parting words but he knew this was the right thing to do. With a nod, Killian closed the car door behind him and watched wistfully as the cab drove away. Once they were a good distance away from the bar, Bae sighed and touched his lips. Seeing the professor around campus again would be incredibly weird and it made Bae wonder if he would’ve been better not knowing who the man was in the first place. Maybe then, Killian would be left none the wiser and they could have taken things to the next level.

**Author's Note:**

> Lily is modern!Tiger Lily.  
> This fic was largely inspired by a cute and funny post on tumblr about a girl who was dancing with a hot dude who turned out to be her teacher. (I kinda suck at explaining.) I can no longer find the post but if anyone knows the link to it, I'd love it if you could tell me so I can link it here. ;) Thanks!


End file.
